LEGO Build Ideas – LEGO Emotions Station

Happy Fine Motor Fridays Guys! Today's fine motor idea is another one of our LEGO Build Ideas and this one is perfectly timed! No t only is LEGO play awesome Fine Motor Work but today is the release of a super fun movie.

While this post is not sponsored or endorsed at all by Disney, this activity was sparked by their movie Inside Out. Oh- FYI I added some affiliate links to this post for easy shopping.

I've been following the development of Disney's Inside Out for a while because…well 1. It looks awesome and 2. Emotions are an important topic for kids. I knew when I saw it that it would really arm my kids with the understanding of how to express their emotions.

So far it's looking pretty good, even with only seeing the teasers and promos. Not only are my kids noticing when they are feeling these emotions but they are helping each other label them too!

The other phenomenon sweeping the Lalymom household is playing with LEGO. Like their parents before them, my kids are fervently assembling and reassembling. Sometimes those little fingers are working so quickly I think I should hire them out to St. Nick at Christmas!

With that in mind we made a plan to make emotions out of LEGO. The kids helped and had input into all the emotions and since they love watching the Inside Out, it's no surprise that they wanted to use the colors from the movie.

First start by talking with your kids about the emotions they feel. You can use the ones from the movie or you could brainstorm any emotions you want.

Take turns describing those emotions and think about descriptive words and colors to describe those feelings.

Next try to make your emotions. You can give them faces or not, bodies or not- really any shape that demonstrates that emotion to your child. Here is a close up of ours, however you should not feel that you have to exactly duplicate ours.

Place them all on your base plate and your Emotions Station is ready! Our kids have built and rebuilt different versions of their emotions and have really enjoyed giving them personalities to match their namesake emotions.

Ways to Use Your LEGO Emotions Station

-Place your Emotions Station in a easy to reach place in your house so anyone (except those too young to safely handle LEGO) can reach it.

-Throughout your day as you encounter different emotions you can either point to or pick up the emotion you're feeling.

-If your child is having a hard time with something or a tantrum, you can refer to your emotions station and help him or her name the current emotion.

-Use this to teach empathy and kindness by talking about scenarios you might encounter. “If you see a person looking like this (sadness) how do you think they feel?” “What do you think you could say or do to make them feel like this (joy)?” Etc.

What other ways would you use this LEGO Emotions Station? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below! If you make your own please come share on my Facebook Page!

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Fine Motor Friday

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